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Dynamic Analysis of Heavy Equipment Mounted on Steel Skid Foundations

Article · June 2014

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Mahmoud M. Hassan G.W. Norlander

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 CSCE 2014 4th International Structural Specialty Conference - 4e Conférence internationale
spécialisée sur les structures 2014 de la SCGC

Halifax, NS
May 28 to 31, 2014 / 28 au 31 mai 2014

Dynamic Analysis of Heavy Equipment Mounted on Steel Skid Foundations

M. M. Hassan1,2, A. Abbas1, G. W. Norlander1 and J. Bagga1

1
AMEC Americas Limited, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt.
* mhassa7@alumni.uwo.ca

Abstract: Foundations of heavy equipment are often designed as concrete rigid/block foundations.
Placing concrete in remote and cold areas, such as northern Alberta is costly due to supply limitations
direct labour cost and associated indirect costs. Steel floor framing systems can be used to support
equipment as an alternative to concrete rigid/block foundations. This study suggests methods to analyse
steel skid foundations supporting rotating machinery when resting the skid on steel-driven piles.. A steel
skid foundation is a relatively flexible structural system with many modes of natural frequencies and
associated mode shapes. The vibration characteristics of a proposed steel skid foundation system are
investigated. The study shows that steel skid foundations can be used as an alternative to concrete block
foundations. An example of a heavy slurry pump supported by a steel skid foundation is presented. This
study can assist practicing engineers to consider steel skid foundations when selecting rotating machine
foundations.

1 Introduction

Structures that support rotating equipment, such as pumps, compressors, turbines and generators are
subjected to vibrations caused by machine unbalanced forces. The unbalanced forces in rotating
machines stem from centrifugal forces associated with residual unbalances (Hassan et. al. 2013). Various
factors, such as corrosion or wear of moving parts, deflection of the shaft, misalignment during installation
and damage of machine bearings cause the unbalanced forces (Gazetas 1983). These forces are
typically given by the machine manufacture (Arya 1984). The unbalanced forces are usually decomposed
into two orthogonal components and point outward from the rotating shaft. The two components are both
sinusoidal and 90 degree out of phase with each other.

The main goal of the design of a machine foundation is to limit the response amplitude to a specific
tolerance (CFEM 2006). The tolerance is typically set to ensure satisfactory performance of the machine
and minimize disturbance for people working in the immediate vicinity. This tolerance is usually specified
by the machine manufacturer and the owner. If the vibrations are excessive, they may damage the
machine or cause it not to function properly. In addition, it can break connections, damage bearings,
damage auxiliary equipment and endanger equipment operation.

Machines are commonly supported on massive concrete block foundations (ACI 351.3R-04 2006). Block
foundations have sizable thickness and behave as rigid bodies. Block foundations may be placed directly
on the ground or may be supported by piles. A block foundation has a large mass and, therefore, typically
has a low natural frequency. The analysis of a block foundation is relatively simple as compared to
complex foundations that consist of a system of walls columns, beams and slabs. The analytical or
numerical methods are commonly used to design of block foundations.

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A representative design for machine foundations is an important consideration for cost effective schedule
driven development typical for remote cold regions such as those of the Canadian Oil Sands. Pouring and
curing concrete in these regions requires several precautions. High labour cost, material availability and
price often make concrete foundations an expensive timely option. An alternative system using steel skid
frames to directly support the equipment redirects material, assembly, schedule and cost benefit
considerations to the more efficient major population centers.

The current study proposed a steel skid foundation resting on steel-driven piles to support heavy
equipment. Based on a literature review, the current study represents the first attempt to publish the
investigation for the behaviour of skid mounted steel pile supported machine foundation systems.

A steel skid foundation is a relatively flexible structural system that has many modes of natural
frequencies and associated modal shapes. The vibration characteristics of the proposed foundation
system are investigated. An example for a heavy slurry pump supported by steel skid beams is
presented. The conditions represented would be helpful for practicing engineers and owners
representatives within the oil and gas industry.

2 Evaluation of Foundation Impedance Functions

The study of the dynamic response of foundations supporting vibrating equipment requires proper
evaluation for the dynamic stiffness and damping of the foundation. The variation of these values with
dynamic soil characteristics is usually notable, and consequently their effect on the foundation response
is critical (El Naggar 2003). Several approaches are available in the literature for the analysis of
foundation systems to account for dynamic soil–structure interaction. The analyses approach adopted for
this study to determine the impedance functions of shallow and deep foundations are described briefly
below.

2.1 Deep foundation

Dynamic stiffness and damping of piles are influenced by interaction of the piles with the surrounding soil.
In a group of closely spaced piles, the character of dynamic stiffness and damping is further complicated
by interaction between individual piles known as pile-soil-pile interaction or the group effect. To account
for pile–soil–pile interaction effects, the superposition approach was used in the analysis. In this
approach, the stiffness and damping of single piles are calculated first, then group effect is accounted for
using the interaction factors. The dynamic stiffness (impedance function) of piles can be described as
[1] K i  k i ( ao )  ici ( a0 )
k c
The stiffness constants, i , and the equivalent viscous damping constants, i , for individual motions of
the pile head in a layered medium can be evaluated as a function of the pile and soil properties using the
approach developed by Novak and Aboul-Ella (1978).. The dynamic group effects can be evaluated
approximately using the interaction factors approach and the approximate approach presented by Dobry
and Gazetas (1988) and Gazetas and Makris (1991) in which the interaction problem is reduced to the
consideration of cylindrical wave propagation. A simplified approximate analysis for the dynamic group
effects is formulated on the basis of dynamic interaction factors,  , introduced by Kaynia and Kausel
(1982) who presented charts for dynamic interaction. In this analysis, the impedance functions of single
piles and the interaction factors are calculated first, then the group impedance functions are computed
using the approach described in El Naggar and Novak (1995). All of the techniques used to calculate the
impedance functions for the foundation are encoded in the computer code DYNA6 (El Naggar et at.
2011). The following section describes the soil properties required for the input of DYNA 6.

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2.2 Soil properties

Foundations for vibrating equipment should be designed for dynamic response using pertinent machine
and foundation information along with dynamic soil properties. The shear modulus of soils under dynamic
loads is affected by several factors. The most important variables that affect soil response are: 1)
amplitude of dynamic strain, 2) mean effective stress, 3) void ratio, 4) grain size characteristics and soil
structure, 5) stress history, 6) frequency of vibration, and 7) degree of saturation. Based on the measured
shear wave velocity, the dynamic shear modulus can be computed using the following equations:

where,
Es
[2] Gs 
2( 1   s )
G
Vs  s
2
[3]
s

where, Es = Young’s Modulus of Elasticity, Gs = Shear modulus of soil, Ρs = Mass density of soil, s =
Poisson’s ratio, and Vs = Shear wave velocity. The dynamic shear modulus should be used in dynamic
-3
analyses where the shear strain amplitudes are less than 10 percent. The dynamic properties of the soil
used in the study are tabulated in Table 1.

Table 1: Dynamic Soil Properties

Depth below Soil description Shear Modulus Shear Wave Damping Poisson’s
finished (Gs),MPa Velocity (Vs), Ratio (s) Ratio (s)
grade, m m/sec
0 – 4.5 Loose to medium 40 140 0.03 0.35
dense silty sand

4.5 – 10.5 Very loose to very 100 215 0.03 0.35

dense silty sand

10.5 – 18.5 Very loose to very 135 265 0.03 0.35

dense silty sand

18.5 – 25 Dense to very dense 185 310 0.03 0.4

sand

3 Description of the Machine

In this study, the foundation is assumed to support a 2000 HP slurry pump. The length and width of the
pump are 5.2 m and 2.4 m, respectively. The pump weight is 32000 kg. The operational speed of the
pump impeller and the motor are 761 rpm. The weight of the pump and motor are 12000 kg and 9000 kg,
respectively. The unbalanced dynamic forces provided by the manufacture are 4313 N for the pump
impeller and 480 N for the motor. The machine vibration limit = 10 mm/s alarm and 20 mm/s
trip/shutdown. This is equivalent to 125 µm alarm and 250 µm trip/shutdown. In the current study, the total
calculated zero-to-peak amplitude on any point of the structure, and/or foundation system above grade
(including points along the centerline of the shaft of the machine) shall not exceed 40 µm. The properties
of the slurry pump are shown in Table 2.

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4 Finite Element Model for the Skid

The dynamic analysis of the steel skid foundation is performed using SAP2000 Software. The frame
element is used to model the steel skid foundation. The Link/Support option is used to assign dynamic
stiffness/damping for piles in the X, Y and Z directions. Table 3 shows the cross-sectional area of different
elements of the skid and pumphouse. Figure1 and Figure 2 show the dimension and FEM of the steel
skid foundation. It should be noted that the dimensions of the skid foundation includes the lay down area
for placement of the pump during maintenance.

Table 2: Properties of the 2000 HP slurry pump

Pump Motor
Angular frequency ω (Pump) = 80 rad/sec ω (Pump) = 80 rad/sec
Frequency f (Pump) = 12.7 Hz f (Pump) = 12.7 Hz
Period T (Pump) = 0.0786 sec T (Pump) = 0.0786 sec
Weight 12000 kg 9000 kg
Unbalanced force 4313 N 480 N

Table 3: Cross-section of the steel skid foundation

Parameter Property
Primary skid beam framing W760x161
moment connections
Secondary skid beam framing W200x42
shear connections
Piles 762 mm diameter x 15.9 mm thickness x 20 m length

5 Method of Analysis

In this study, the Linear Modal Time-History Analysis is used to determine the maximum amplitude at the
CG of the pump and motor. The eigenvector analysis is used to determine undamped free-vibration mode
shapes and frequencies of the structure as follows:
2
[4] | [K] – ω [M] | {Ф} = 0

where, K =stiffness matrix, M = mass matrix, ω = circular natural frequency, and {Ф} = the eigenvector or
mode shapes. The Modal Participation Mass Ratios are used to determine the required number of
modes. The analysis shows that the first 15 modes are adequate to represent the time-history response
to the applied load.

6 Results and Discussion

The dynamic analysis of heavy rotating equipment mounted on a steel skid foundation is presented. The
steel skid is supported by driven steel piles. SAP2000 software is utilized to model the pump, steel skid
and the driven piles.

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 Figure 1: Framing of the steel skid foundation

Figure 2: Finite element model of the skid foundation and piles

CST-9-5
 Motor CG Pump CG

Figure 3: Location of the CG of the pump and motor.

The 3 primary modes of the steel skid foundation on piles are dominated by flexural deformation of the
main support beams and piles. Figures 4 contains the results of a finite element analysis that shows the
mode shapes. The deflection of the entire floor is in-phase resulting in a horizontal motion of the pump.
The natural frequency of this mode was calculated to be 9.64 Hz. The foundation would be very sensitive
to machines operating at 578 rpm.

Figure 5 contains the results of a finite element analysis that shows a mode shape wherein the deflection
of the floor beams at the laydown side is out-of-phase with the deflection on the other side under the
pump. The natural frequency of this mode was calculated to be 12.15 Hz. It would be very sensitive to a
machine operating at 729 rpm.

Figure 6 contains the results of a finite element analysis that shows a mode shape where the deflection of
the floor beams at the pump location are out-of-phase with the deflection at the lay down area. The
natural frequency of this mode was calculated to be 13.9 Hz. It would be very sensitive to a machine
operating at 834 rpm. Periods, natural frequencies, and modal participating mass ratios for main modes
are tabulated in Table 4.

Figure 7 shows that the maximum amplitude of the CG of the pump and motor is 22 µm. This would be
less than the limit (40 µm).

CST-9-6
 Figures 4: Longitudinal mode of steel skid foundation.

Figures 5: Partially transverse mode of steel skid foundation.

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 Figures 6: Partially transverse mode of steel skid foundation.

Table 4: Periods, natural frequencies, and modal participating mass ratios for main modes.

Modal Participating Mass Ratios

Mode Period Natural frequency rpm UX UY UZ
Sec Hz Unitless Unitless Unitless
1 0.104 9.639 578 0.94 0.00 0.00
2 0.082 12.155 729 0.00 0.35 0.00
3 0.072 13.903 834 0.00 0.57 0.00
5 0.049 20.234 1214 0.00 0.05 0.00
6 0.043 23.509 1411 0.06 0.00 0.00
8 0.035 28.593 1716 0.00 0.01 0.00
9 0.032 31.120 1867 0.00 0.00 0.20
10 0.029 33.951 2037 0.00 0.00 0.57
12 0.025 39.825 2389 0.00 0.00 0.02
13 0.023 44.016 2641 0.00 0.00 0.11

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7 Conclusion

Steel skid foundations can be utilized to support heavy equipment. Steel skid foundations can be
designed to limit the response amplitude to the limit tolerance. Steel skid foundations can be used as an
alternative to concrete block foundations.

Figures 7: Maximum displacement of the CG of pump and motor.

Acknowledgments

We are obliged to AMEC Americas Limited, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for the support provided for this
application work.

References

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CST-9-9
 Novak, M., and Aboul-Ella, F. 1978. Impedance functions of piles in layered media. Journal of the
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